


Snippets of What Could Have Been

by Meriora



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Underage Drinking, Zutara Week 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-18 15:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15488568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meriora/pseuds/Meriora
Summary: A series of stand-alone drabbles in honor of Zutara Week 2018.





	1. First Kiss

The thing about these sort of parties was that Katara could literally feel her hearing degrading, decibel by decibel, every time the DJ decided airhorns was a suitable transition to the next song. Honestly, she was going to have to talk to Jet later because Smellerbee was a shitty DJ. She meandered her way back to the bar, where Pipsqueak was pouring a tequila shot for someone who had obviously had too many. Once he was done, he shot her a grin.

“You here for another lemonade, Sweetness?” he asked, shaking the bottle of cheap vodka. She looked at her half-empty cup and then the vodka and back at her up.

“Top me off,” she yelled, handing Pipsqueak her cup. “Where’s Jet? He invites me to this thing and I don’t know where he is.”

Pipsqueak makes her drink and scans the makeshift dance floor. “Did you check the back?” Pipsqueak asked.

Katara shrugged. “It’s okay,” she said. “He’s probably with some girl and I don’t need to walk into that _again_.” She took a long sip of her drink and waved at Pipsqueak as she made her way outside. The party was in a decently sized warehouse, with a few vendors set up outside and an art gallery in the back of a moving truck. She stood out, in her plain clothes and lack of elaborate makeup, but she only decided to stay because Suki was her ride. And because she wanted to talk to Jet, but not if he was wrapped around Jin. _Again._

Katara saw Suki talking up her jewelry to three girls and Katara decided to walk back inside. In the dark, she could blend into the crowd and make her way back to the bar because there was nothing else for her to do, except drink. On her fourth vodka lemonade, she felt someone’s eyes on her. She turned but didn’t see anything.

“Did...you see something, Pipsqueak?” Katara asked. 

“Define ‘something’, Sweetness,” he said. “Have you had too much?”

Katara downed her drink and handed her cup back to Pipsqueak. “Yes,” she said. “I’m seeing things so I’m gonna...go find Suki! Yeah! Screw Jet and his stupid libido. I’ll talk to him later…”

She drifted off and cut through the warehouse. She was just gonna go home and Suki could sell her jewelry later cause the room was starting to spin. She felt something on her shoulder and turned to see some guy. She could barely make out the features of his face, but he had some really impressive makeup on. “Huh?” she said intelligently.

“Um, hey,” he said. He kept looking around like he was looking for someone. He glanced behind him, and a trio of girls gave him encouraging looks and one even gave him a thumbs up. “Um, hey, I’m Zuko and I wanted to maybe talk to you ‘cause I’ve seen you before and I wanted to talk to you cause you seem cool and Pipsqueak and The Duke talk about you a lot and--”

“Do you want to go outside?” Katara asked. The guy, Zuko, nodded and followed her out into the fresh air. Now that she could see him more clearly, she could see that his makeup was eerily reminiscent of a burn, but some people were walking around with skeleton faces, so she wasn’t going to judge. The rest of his face was incredibly red. Was he that drunk?

“How did you hear of this event?” Katara asked once it was clear that he wasn’t going to motor mouth again.

“Ah, well Jet’s my roommate so I always go to his little things,” he said bashfully.

“Oh yeah, I know Jet too,” she said. “We were kind of a thing and then I dumped him because he’s kind of a dick.”

Zuko laughed and Katara started laughing with him. “Yeah, he is kind of a dick,” he agreed. “I mean, we go here together and he always ends up at some girl’s house.” 

Katara nodded and went to take a sip of her drink, but forgot that she didn’t have anything in her hands. She blinked at her hands and then turned back to Zuko. In this lighting, he looked really handsome or maybe she was drunk enough to take anything, but even though they’d only talked for like 5 minutes, Zuko seemed pretty cool. 

Her phone buzzed and she took it out to see a text from Suki. “Zuko,” she said. “I gotta go. My girl’s leaving and she’s my ride. Here, type in your number.” She shoved her phone into his face and he took it. He gave it back with a bit of a bashful smile. 

“Text me, okay?” he asked. “I want to take you out to my uncle’s tea shop and talk when we’re not high.”

Katara laughed loudly and stifled her giggles. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. “Bye bye Zuko,” she said. And before she could think about it, she pulled him down and gave him a quick kiss.

She stepped back, turned on her heel and headed to Suki’s car. Suki was putting one last box into the trunk and gave Katara a grin. “Hey ‘Tara,” she said. “You look happy. Did you finally get with Jet?”

“No, I got drunk and met a cute guy.” Katara got into the passenger’s seat and then struggled a bit with the seatbelt. “I’m going to text him tomorrow.”

“Nice,” Suki said. “Promise to give me all the deets once you get back.”

Katara nodded and thought of Zuko as they made the long journey home.


	2. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I should be writing YWB, but I’m going through it and trying to tighten up the story. Please enjoy this indulgent mess.

“And this is where she kept all of her important papers,” Aunt Kya said. In front of them stood a small lockbox, decorated in the light blues and whites of the Water Tribes. There were stylized waves on every single side and the Water Tribe emblem right on the front. It was one of the few things that obviously spoke of Grandmother’s heritage. History, and most of their family often forgot that Grandmother was Water Tribe and proud of her heritage, instead of the progenitor of the last airbending family in the entire world.

 

“What’s in here?” he asked Aunt Kya. She looked at the lockbox with a pensive look on her face and shrugged.

 

“I don’t know, Rohan,” she finally said. “The older I get, the more I realize how little I knew her.” She gave a deep sigh and took out a small key. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

 

Aunt Kya turned the key in the lock and it popped open with a small click. He expected the lockbox to have something more impressive in it, instead of having old-looking trinkets and a bunch of wrinkled folded papers. Aunt Kya stared at the items as Rohan took each one out. The first thing was a comb that looked like the teeth of a whale-shark. The blue paint on the handle had begun to chip, but it was surprisingly in good condition. “What’s this?” he asked.

 

Kya gently took the comb from his hands and peered at it closely. “It’s a Water Tribe comb, but I’ve never seen it before,” she said. “Maybe it was her mother’s?”

 

Rohan shrugged, but that didn’t feel right. Maybe it was something Grandmother had for herself. Aunt Kya put the comb aside and took out a jar containing a dried circle of flowers. Her face lit up as she saw it. “I know this!” she cried. “When Zuko took her necklace, Dad made her a necklace of flowers to help her feel better. This must be over 80 years old!” Kya’s face softened as she looked at the withered, brittle and colorless flowers. She gently put it next to the comb and turned back to the lockbox. There was only one more thing, besides the papers, in the lockbox and it was a hairpiece.

 

It was tied to a letter, with “For Katara” written on it in flowery script. Aunt Kya untied the hairpiece and handed the letter to Rohan. “This is...expensive,” Kya said, turning the hairpiece in her hands, over and over and over and over. It didn’t look Water Tribe at all; there were two circles, that looked like flowers close up, with sparkling red jewels in the center and white webbing linking the outer rims of the circle to the gems. They were linked to a stick with a tassel made of thin gold and red silks flaring out from the top. It was simple, yet elegant and obviously outclassed anything made in the Southern Water Tribe.

 

Rohan tore his eyes away from the hairpiece and opened the letter. Kya glanced up and turned back to the hairpiece. “What does it say?” she asked.

 

“‘Dear Katara,’” Rohan read. “‘I know we promised to stop, but please, accept this last gift from me. There’s too much between us. We’ve known that since Ba Sing Se, maybe since before then. You’re the only one who’s stood by me through everything and I won’t ever forget that. It’s hard for me to write these things, because I want to say it to you. I want to tell you how much I love you and how much I wish things could have been different with us. Do you think we would have worked in another life? Or if I had the courage to tell you how I felt? Or if Toph had listened to Uncle? But you’re right. I know how it feels to come from a broken family and the last thing I want is to come between you two. This hairpiece is the one my mother wore when she married my father. In another time and place, I think it would have looked lovely on you, but I want you to have it. For what could have been. I’ll see you at Sokka’s wedding. Love, Zuko.’”

 

Rohan read the letter again, not believing what it said, but the words stayed the same. He chanced a glance at Aunt Kya, but the look on her face was inscrutable. “Read another one,” she commanded. Rohan grabbed the next one. This letter didn’t have any gift attached to it, but whoever had written it must have done so in a hurry, judging by how close the letters ran together.

 

‘Tara, do you think I’m a bad person? I want to tell the entire Kingdom, but Uncle says that we can't afford the Fire Nation to be unstable when the Earth King still wants to take us down. But what should I do? Sit back and take responsibility for a child that’s not mine? Mai knows as well as I that that child isn’t mine and she’s perfectly fine with parading around like she’s some innocent turtle duck who hasn’t done anything wrong in her life. She’s lied to me so many times and sure she’s saved my life, but if she had just told me what was going on with her dad, I wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place! And she used our name. The name of our daughter. What’s going to happen when she grows up and realizes she looks nothing like me? And what happens if the world finds out that I’ve left the kingdom in the hands of a common-born fatherless bastard? You’re the only other person besides uncle I can trust with this. I don’t know what to do.’ It ends there, Aunt Kya.”

 

Aunt Kya shook her head. “Just keep going, Rohan. Don’t stop until it’s over,” she said softly.

 

Rohan kept going, reading each letter to Aunt Kya, until there was only one left. This one was written on thin parchment that looked more like the thin pieces of paper from Republic City than any of the old thick paper from Grandmother’s time. He unfurled it and started to read.

 

“ ‘Zuko, there’s no point in writing this to you now. You’re gone now and I am all alone. Korra says Toph is out there somewhere, but I don’t think she’ll ever come back. If she won’t for Lin and Suyin, why would she for me? Especially now that you’re gone. I went to your funeral. Kya didn’t want me to go, but we’d been apart for long enough. It was very beautiful. Izumi spared no expense and she walked with the procession until the very end. I know your relationship wasn’t the best, but in the end, you were her father and she truly loved you. I loved you too, but I made my choice. Sometimes I wonder how different life would have been, if I hadn’t been so afraid. You always said I would have made an amazing Fire Lady. I wonder if I would have. Maybe I could have protected you from those assassins. Maybe I could have stopped all of the bloodshed in the colonies. Maybe I could have been the Fire Lady you deserved instead of the one you got, although I don’t blame her. You and Mai always did bring out the worst in each other. Maybe I could have stopped your heart from going out. Maybe I could have healed you better and you’d still be with me now. I’m sorry for wasting all of our time Zuko. Do you remember that fortuneteller  I told you about? Sokka insisted she was just a hack, but I believed every word she said. She accurately foretold my entire life, right down to the man I married. Her last fortune was that I would have my third great-grandchild before I passed away in my sleep. But I think she’s wrong. I won’t make it that long.’”

 

Rohan blinked against the tears, but nothing could stop them from running down his face. He gingerly put the letter back in the box and wiped his eyes.

 

“I didn’t expect to find all this,” Aunt Kya said, her voice quiet. “I guess I should have expected it. I never did feel like Mom loved Dad.” Aunt Kya sighed and started putting everything back.

 

“I’m sorry Rohan,” she said. “I just wanted the two of us to learn a little more about Mom’s life since we’re the only waterbenders in the family and instead we get a forbidden love story between my mom and Fire Lord Zuko.”

 

Rohan shrugged. “I dunno,” he said through the tears. “It makes her feel more like the person in the history books. She did all these great things and worked so hard to prove to the world that she could be a warrior and then she spends the rest of her life as the “Avatar’s wife” or “mother of the airbenders”. This is her.”

 

Aunt Kya turned away but there was a hint of a smile on her face. “Just promise that everything you’ve read in here stays in here,” she said. “I don't think your dad could handle it.”

 

He laughed. “It’ll be just between us.”

 

The two of them put Grandmother’s lockbox away, shut just as tightly as it was before they arrived. When they left the small igloo she had been born and died in, Rohan felt a sense of sorrow overcome him. Even though he wouldn’t have been born if she had, he couldn’t help but wish she had followed her heart more and had been as great as Grandfather Aang or Korra or Great Uncle Sokka. But as long as he breathed, he would make sure she got the recognition she deserved.


	3. Tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to the first chapter, "First Kiss," but you don't actually need to read it to understand most of this.

The Jasmine Dragon was a quaint little shop right in the heart of the good part of town. Trendy boutiques and overpriced restaurants stood on either side of it, glitzy and glammed, although the store itself looked a little run down. Katara dodged the rich pedestrians and ducked into the tea house. 

Despite the shabby outside, the inside was beautiful. On one wall, there was an elaborate painting of two dragons, one red and one blue, intertwined with each other, with multicolor flames bursting out of their mouths. On the other wall, there were dozens of photos with tons of different people, even celebrities, but there was always a portly man smiling brightly in each one. She even saw a picture with someone who looked like Zuko in it.

“Hey, u-um Sweetness! Over here!”

She tore her eyes away from the photo and saw Zuko waving at her from a booth close to the register. She waved back and approached his booth, but when she got closer, she saw his face. What she once thought was a strange choice in makeup, was an actual burn surrounding his entire right eye. She paused for a moment, before sitting across from him. She’d seen worse during her volunteer work at the hospital. 

“Hey, Zuko!” She said brightly. “But I only go by Sweetness when I’m at the parties. It’s kind of my code name.”

Zuko blushed and he looked away from her. She marveled at how red his face became before he turned back to her. “You never actually told me your name,” he mumbled.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” she cried. She shoved her hand out, knocking it on the table. “My name is Katara. Nice to meet you.” Zuko snorted and shook her hand.

“I’m Zuko,” he said with a bit of a smirk. “Hey, are you thirsty? I can get us a pot.”

Katara nodded. “Just get your favorite kind,” she said. Zuko paused and looked away, another blush coloring his cheeks. He blushed really easily, almost as much as Aang did.

“Don’t tell my uncle, but I don’t really like tea,” he confessed. “Let’s go order together.”

Katara left her purse at their table and followed him to the register. A girl with a high bun was scrubbing a spill behind the counter. She glanced up, saw Zuko and groaned. “Go home Zuzu,” she said. “You’ve been here all day.”

“Zula, just take my order,” he said.

“Take your own order,” she said. “I’m bus--”

She finally looked up and saw Katara. The girl’s eyes widened almost comically and then she smiled broadly. Katara got chills.

“Hi,” she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Are you Zuko’s girlfriend? I’m his sister, Azula. Will you be coming over later? Should I tell Mom?” On closer inspection, there was an obvious resemblance between them. They had the same nose, same eyes, and same inky black hair.

“Azula please--” Zuko started.

A devious look crossed Azula’s face and her smile became downright sinister. “I’m going to tell Uncle.”

All of the blood drained from Zuko’s face and everything was still for a moment, before Azula darted into the back kitchen, with Zuko three steps behind. Katara stood at the register and blinked before a familiar portly man exited the back. “Welcome my dear!” he said in a bright voice. His smile was wide and genuine and only grew bigger when he actually saw her. Azula and Zuko trailed behind him, the former looking smug and the latter looking like someone kicked his puppy.

“I am Iroh, but you can call me Uncle!” he said jovially. “So this is the lovely lady who has stolen my nephew’s heart. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

“Oh, I’m Katara,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you, Mister...Uncle Iroh.”

Uncle’s face brightened and he turned back to Zuko. “This one is a keeper, Zuko,” he said with a smile.

Zuko scowled. “You guys, leave her alone. I just met her yesterday!” he cried. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“And you’re already married? Amazing,” Azula said. Zuko shot her a glare, but Azula just grinned. 

Before Zuko could get another word in, Iroh clasped his hands together loudly. “Let me make you a pot of my world famous jasmine tea,” he said.

“How much?” She asked as she patted her pockets for her wallet.

“Katara, don’t worry, it’s on—“

“It’s on the house!” Iroh said, interrupting Zuko. “A lady friend of Zuko’s is always welcome here, whether they’re married or not. Azula, come.” And with that, Uncle had disappeared in the back as fast as he appeared, leaving Zuko red-faced and pouty. 

“God, I’m so sorry about those two,” Zuko said. He led them back to their booth. “This is why I never introduce them to anybody. They act like I’ve never had a girlfriend before! Not that you’re my girlfriend or anything but now Azula’s gonna tell Mom and Mom’s gonna want you over for dinner and Dad will give me the safe sex lecture and I do  _ not _ —“

“Zuko, it’s fine,” Katara said. She didn’t want to tell him how amused she was during the whole debacle. “We all have embarrassing families. You should see my older brother. When he found out I had a boyfriend, he told my dad. So, my dad invited him over for dinner and then told him about his days in the navy. We were like 10.” She thought back to that day and remembered Aang’s pasty face and how the next day he had announced that he was going to be vegan for the rest of his life.

Zuko gave her a grateful smile and opened his mouth but was interrupted by Uncle Iroh placing a porcelain pot on their table. Azula arrived shortly after, with two teacups placed on saucers. Zuko caught her eye and stuck out his tongue, she scowled. 

“Miss Katara, please enjoy your tea. It’s a special recipe that’s been passed down my family for generations,” Uncle Iroh said with a bow. He left again and Azula meandered her way back to the register, bored once again.

Zuko grabbed the pot and poured Katara a cup. “This isn’t some secret family recipe. Uncle made it up himself cause he’s the only person in our family who likes tea,” Zuko said. “Besides my cousin.”

Yet, Zuko sat and watched as Katara took her first sip. It was pungent and fragrant, just like the smell of jasmine, and it left a perfume-like feel in her mouth. It wasn’t so bad. “I like it,” she said and a tension left Zuko’s shoulders.

“Cool,” he said. “I’ll tell Uncle later.”

She nodded and the two of them enjoyed a comfortable silence. Eventually, Katara was on her third cup of tea and decided the silence had gone on for too long.

“So why did you approach me?” Katara asked.

Zuko, who had poured himself a cup after Katara finished her second, swirled the tea in his cup and avoided her face as he thought about his answer. “Well, I have seen you at Jet’s things a lot and  I’ve been wanting to talk to you since you seem really cool and it’d be nice to have a friend at Jet’s parties. Besides Jet, but you know how he is.”

Katara nodded. “You should come hang with me and Suki. I usually help her sell her jewelry. She gets pretty decent turnout and sometimes I sell fortunes, but usually, I help her out.” Katara finished her tea and then looked outside. “Do you want to walk around?” she asked. “Your sister keeps staring at us.”

Zuko grimaced. “The neighborhood sucks now, but okay,” he said. A devious look crossed his face. “Let’s leave the dishes here so she has to clean them.” 

Katara giggled and waved to Azula as the two of them left the Jasmine Dragon.


	4. Turtleducks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write these right before I post them with no editing at all so please excuse the fact that they make no sense.

Every spring in the Fire Nation brought blooming fire lilies, rising temperatures, and gentle rains. Spring had always been Zuko’s favorite time of year. He found peace in the wafting smell of flowers and the soft grass underneath his feet. Times like this, he could forget about the mountains of stress in his life. Of course, he would have to pay attention to the mounting pile of paperwork on his desk, the worsening relations with the Earth Kingdom, his growing resentment towards his mother, and his deteriorating relationship with Mai, but not now. Now, it was time to meditate.

He sat in front of the pond where he and his mother spent so many hours in front of. Even if the relationship between them was strained, he still cherished those memories. It was still a safe and peaceful place for him, after all these years. Now, Zuko wasn’t a perfect mediator like Uncle was, but it was a good way to get all his thoughts in order without them being overwhelming. He could let his thoughts wash over him and that’s it. Every moment in front of the pond lasted an eternity and every eternity was just a drop in the great lake of time. The passing of time was an illusion. All division was an illusion. His own perception was an illusion. Even the reality of his existence was--

“Zuko, you’ve been out here for three hours.” A soft voice cut through the stillness and Zuko opened his eyes and blinked. Katara stood in front of him, a soft smile on her face. “Normally, I’d leave you to your meditation, but you start getting existential when you meditate for too long. Where were you?”

Zuko unwound his limbs and popped his stiff joints. “Reality is an illusion,” he muttered. Katara bit back a smile and offered her hand. He let her help him up and the two of them stood in front of the pond. “How bad is it?” he asked.

“Well, the Northern Water Tribe demands monetary reparations, because apparently our trade agreement isn’t good enough. The Earth King has rejected our current military proposal and is demanding we dismantle all military bases right now and Dad, I mean, Chief Hakoda sends thanks for the food package,” Katara said.

Zuko sighed and ran his hands over his face. “I can’t deal with this,” he muttered. “At least someone’s grateful about what I’m doing.” He turned towards the palace and felt his turbulent thoughts bubble to the surface. Whatever peace he had gained from his meditation had completely dissipated. He saw a small family of turtleducks waddle towards the pond and had an idea. “Tara, instead of doing real work, could we just feed the turtleducks today?”

He saw the ‘no’ on her face before she even said it, so he had his rebuttal ready. “Come on, what else can we do? Do what Kuei wants and then listen to him complain once his economy tanks? Or give Arnook more money so they can destabilize the South? Seriously?”

Katara sighed and crossed her arms. “We could talk to Aang…”

“He’s not going to help,” Zuko said. “He’s mad at the both of us.”

“No, he’s mad at me and you’re just stuck in the crossfire,” she muttered. “He’ll get over it eventually.”

Zuko scoffed. “Agni has no fury like an avatar scorned,” he said. “But until then, we’re on our own.”

Katara was silent and the silence stretched between them. She looked up and took a deep breath of the sweet spring air. “How about we do all the paperwork outside?” she offered. “You can feed your turtleducks while I run your country.”

“Thank you, Fire Lord Katara,” he joked. They laughed and Katara went inside to get the paperwork. Zuko sat back down on the grass and watched the turtleducks make their way to the pond. There was a mother turtleduck with her two turtleducklings, one keeping up valiantly while the other one struggled. The first duckling and the mother made it to the pond and started splashing around. The second duckling struggled in the grass, left behind, alone, abandoned. Zuko wanted to help, but what could he do? How would the turtleducking learn if he just put him in the water? He had to learn on his own how to make it to the pond. A pair of brown hands scooped the duckling up and gently put him in the water. It quacked loudly and swam to its family.

“He had to do it on his own,” Zuko said. Katara took her spot next to him and put a loaf of bread on his lap. 

“Everybody needs help sometime, right Fire Lord?” she asked pointedly.

Zuko looked away and started tearing the loaf into small pieces. “I suppose,” he muttered. “I appreciate you coming here and being my second-in-command. I really needed it.”

“Just like the baby turtleduck,” Katara said lightly, pouring over an official document.

“Do you need my help?”

“No, you just relax,” Katara said. “You’ve been under a lot of stress recently. I’ll draft these up and then you tell me whether they have your approval or not.”

“Don’t you think you need a break too?” Zuko asked. Katara shook her head and continued marking up the scroll. Zuko tore a small piece of bread and tossed it into the pond. He watched them eat as he continued to toss small pieces of bread. As time went on, he noticed that the second duckling, the baby, wasn’t able to reach the food as fast as his sibling. It was like him and Azula, with him being the baby who needed help getting into the pond. He tore a larger piece and tossed it across the pond. As Mama Turtleduck and Azula the Turtleduck rushed to the bread piece, Zuko put a few crumbs in front of Zuko the Turtleduck. Zuko the Turtleduck ate those crumbs in an instant and Zuko the Fire Lord put more out for him. He continued to feed the turtleduck royal family until he ran out of bread.

Zuko the Turtleduck quacked and flapped his way out of the water. He waddled his way towards Zuko the Fire Lord and quacked again.

“Um, Katara,” he said as the other two turtleducks approached him as well. “I think I’m being attacked by turtleducks.”

Katara didn’t look up from her scribbling and shrugged. “I’m Fire Lord if you die, so make sure you protect my crown.” She put one scroll down and started on the next one.

“Katara…” Zuko said worriedly as the turtleducks started jumping on his legs. “Katara!!”


	5. Crystals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which my love of minerals makes an appearance. This chapter takes place within the same universe as chapters 1 and 3, because I am now in love with this modern au.

“I don’t know about this,” Zuko muttered, peering at the drawstring bag Katara carried in her hand. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.”

“Come on,” Katara cajoled, scooting closer to him on the couch. “You don’t believe in it anyway!”

“Ty Lee loves junk like this,” he said. He grabbed his water bottle and took a sip. “I should have called her over.”

Katara grinned and shook the bag again. “Let me read your fortune,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing but good things.” Zuko sported a very Azula-like scowl and huffed petulantly. He glanced at her face, but her pleading blue eyes were too much for him. 

“Fine!” He cried. “Fine, I’ll do it, Jesus.”

Katara squealed and gave Zuko a quick hug. She opened her bag and took out a large clear rock. “This is our center,” she said, putting it aside on the coffee table. “You’re going to ask a question to it, then I’ll put it in the center of the mat and throw the rest of these—“ Katara shook the bag, “—on the mat. Then I tell you your fortune depending on the order the rest fall in.”

During their month of kinda dating/getting to know each other, Zuko learned a lot of Katara’s weird hobbies. She couldn’t drink anything unless it was completely saturated with ice, unless she was in front of uncle, then she could stomach an entire pot of tea. And speaking of tea, she was constantly dehydrated! She drank like 3 gallons a day and spent half of their dates in the restroom. And then, there were her rants on the injustices and inequalities in the world. She could and would go on and on and on for hours about the state of the world, but Zuko actually liked listening to those. They were always interesting and he loved how passionate she got. 

The worst of it must have been the pseudoscience stuff she was so into. If she wasn’t using the position of the stars during his birth to figure out his personality, she was trying to communicate with spirits or reading fortunes with tea leaves and skin wrinkles. Or rocks. And as her kinda-maybe boyfriend, he was always patient zero to whatever new psychic power she was convinced she had. “So you’re going to use a bunch of rocks to tell my future?” he asked skeptically. 

“They’re not  _ rocks _ ,” she said. “They’re crystals. Specially in tune with the universe’s energies.”

“Oh my god, they’re rocks and you’re Ty Lee,” Zuko retorted.

“ _ Crystals _ ,” Katara clarified again. “The center is made of quartz. They are  _ crystals _ .”

“Actually, quartz is a mineral,” said a voice from the kitchen. Sokka poked his head into the living room and grinned. “Minerals are not rocks, although some rocks are minerals and both make up—“

“Sokka, go home!” Katara cried. “Why are you even here?”

If Azula was annoying, Katara thought Sokka was doubly so. Zuko actually liked hanging out Sokka though. They had a lot in common, plus Sokka was just chill most of the time. He only got freaked out when it came to his ‘precious baby sister’s innocence.’ It was a good thing Sokka thought the two of them were just friends. 

“Hey man,” Zuko greeted. Sokka gave the obligatory bro head nod and shuffled into the room to fist bump. Zuko tried not to stare at Sokka’s bare chest.

“Leave me alone or else I’ll tell Dad about Suki,” Katara threatened. 

“You wouldn’t,” Sokka said. 

“Try me,” she challenged. Their eyes locked in a heated test of will, but Zuko knew who would emerge victorious. Nobody could ever defeat Katara.

Sokka’s eyes abruptly narrowed and he muttered, “I hope you slip on an ice cube,” and stalked towards Suki’s room.

When the door slammed, Zuko turned to Katara. “What does your dad have against Suki?” He asked. 

“Dad’s still not over Yue yet, so Sokka and Suki are keeping it secret for now,” she explained. Zuko thought that made sense. He’d heard all about Yue when he and Sokka has that drunken heart to heart.

Katara jumped off the couch and brandished her sack of rocks. “Let’s get this show on the road!” She cried. She picked up the center rock and turned to him expectantly. “What’s your question about the future, Zuko?” 

He shrugged. “You come up with one.”

“It has to be you!” She cried. “You have to come up with it so the prediction will be accurate.”

Zuko groaned. Loudly. “Fine,” he muttered. “Uh...What’s my path in life?”

“What is Zuko’s path in life?” Katara repeated and she put the rock in the center of the coffee table. She shook the bag and then dumped out the entire thing. Rocks went flying in every direction, one even managing to smack him on the forehead.

“What the heck!?” he cried, rubbing the rapidly foaming bruise. Katara shushed him and looked closely at the ten rocks that didn’t fly into his face. “Okay...I think I got your fortune,” she said. “It’s open to interpretation though, since your question was so broad.”

“Wow, you’re saying this isn’t a precise science? I had no idea,” Zuko said dryly.

Katara shot Zuko an annoyed glare. “I think I liked you better when you were too shy to talk to me,” she muttered.

“Never should have introduced me to Toph,” Zuko said.

“Shut up, I’m reading your fortune,” Katara said. She grabbed Zuko’s water bottle and took a long sip. “Okay...so the first few crystals were the past, sorrow and fire. Hmm, so in your past, there was pain brought on by fire, so like a burn?”

Zuko blinked. “Anybody could have told you that,” he said dryly. “I only have a huge burn on my face.”

“I’m not done,” she retorted. “During the burn, there was either a man who let you get hurt or a woman who hurt you. So, in your present, there was a banishment? Maybe of the man or woman? Or this could be an awakening or starting over. I don’t think it’s literally death since you’re not sick and the future crystal is right here…” She trailed off, muttering to herself and ignorant to the chill crawling down Zuko’s back. Her eyes darted between three rocks and she huffed. “Your future has love and confidence in it, or a re-emergence of self-esteem, or newly gained self-love? I hate using rose quartz, I should switch over to…” Katara trailed off and took in Zuko’s pale face and wide eyes.

“Zuko, are you okay?”

Zuko flopped his mouth open and closed a few times before he pointed at the rocks. “How did you know that?!” He asked, jumping up and starting to pace. “I didn’t tell anybody, not even Uncle! How did you  _ know _ that!?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zuko,” she said in a soft voice. “I just—“

“You said my dad burned me!”

Katara’s jaw dropped and an ocean of emotions stormed on her face. “Your dad did that?” She asked softly. “Oh, Zuko, I—“

Zuko felt his face heat up and internally betrayed himself. It was just a dumb fortune and he had accidentally blabbed his biggest secret. “I, ugh, no, he didn’t act—“ Zuko stopped stammering and sat down. “Azula and I were playing hide and seek and I guess she ran off or something. I fell asleep in the pantry and when I woke up, everything was on fire. I tried to get out, but one of the shelves fell on my face. I, I saw my dad in the kitchen and I kept screaming for him, but he just left me there. I had to get out myself. I made it to the backyard and then the next thing I remember is being in the hospital.”

Zuko took a deep shuddering breath and avoided Katara’s eyes. He wouldn’t be able to handle the pity he saw in her face or the righteous anger. He could barely even handle the stifling silence between them. He felt her arms first as she settled into his lap and held him close. He could smell a faint whiff of something floral, probably Suki’s perfume, as her hair brushed his face  

“Thank you for telling me,” she said softly. Her voice tickled his ear. “I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories. I just wanted to give you a silly fortune.”

Zuko returned the hug and shook his head. “No, I overreacted,” he said. “It’s just a bunch of rocks and I took it too seriously.”

“ _ Crystals _ ,” she said, but her voice was full of amusement. “How about we clean this up and then I can show you—“

“WHAT THE HELL ZUKO!?” 

Zuko jumped and Katara slipped off his lap and onto the floor with a thud. Sokka and Suki stood in the hall, in various states of dress, with twin expressions of shock. 

“Dude!” Sokka cried. “We’re supposed to be bros!! Bros don’t play pattycake with their bro’s baby sister!!” 

Katara, who had crawled off the floor and managed to put away her fortune telling rocks , groaned loudly. “I’m a freaking adult, Sokka! Leave me and my boyfriends alone!”

“B-b-b-boyfriend!?” Sokka cried. Zuko turned to Katara with wide eyes. Nonplussed, Katara turned to Suki.

“Suki, keep him under control or I’ll kick him out,” she said primly. She turned to Zuko. “Come on, let’s show my crystals to Uncle.”

Katara grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the door. Before they could leave the apartment, Zuko heard Sokka cry, “They’re minerals!! Minerals!!!!”


End file.
